Oregon Zoo To Move Nora The Polar Bear

PORTLAND, OR — Nora, the nationally famous Oregon Zoo polar bear, will soon move to Utah's Hogle Zoo, according to Oregon Zoo officials.

A resident of the Oregon Zoo since September 2016, Nora has gained a loyal following on social media thanks to videos shared by zoo keepers — one of which garnered nearly 50 million views on the zoo's Facebook page, according to Oregon Zoo spokeswoman Hova Najarian.

But this fall, Nora will move to Utah to join another young polar bear named Hope, who is moving from the Toledo Zoo in Ohio.

"As hard as it will be for us to say goodbye in the fall, this is the right thing for Nora and we are really excited for her," said Amy Cutting in a statement. (Cutting oversees the Oregon Zoo's marine life area.) "For a young bear that was hand-raised, the companionship of another bear will be so important for developing social skills. Nora has made a lot of progress, and this is an important next step in her life."

Zoo officials have not yet set an exact date for Nora's move but indicated it could be as early as this Fall. The move, according to Cutting, is being timed with Hope's ability to survive without her mother. Born at Ohio's Columbus Zoo in November 2015, Nora was still young when her mother stopped giving her as much attention, zoo officials said — a decision that forced zoo keepers to step in and begin caring of Nora themselves, which in turn has given Nora little exposure to other polar bears.

"From the time she was a week old, Nora has interacted almost exclusively with people," Cutting said. "Hope should be a great companion for her. The two bears were born less than a month apart, and they have a similar youthful energy."

Najarian noted the zoo's previous attempt to introduce Nora to Tasul, the Oregon Zoo's former resident polar bear who died last November before the two could bond.

"While we would love to welcome Hope to Portland, the timing's not right since we're gearing up for construction of our new Polar Passage habitat," Cutting said. "But Hogle Zoo has a terrific modern polar bear habitat and an expert animal-care team. It will be a great place for these two young bears to get acquainted."

Also helping spur the decision to move both polar bears to Utah was a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Najarian said.

In accordance with the AZA's Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program, the zoos' officials coordinated pairing Nora and Hope to emulate how polar bear's form sleuths after separating from their mothers at maturity, or around 2 years old. Hope, who was born at the Toledo Zoo, will turn 2 years old in December.

Click here for more on Nora's move, the Oregon Zoo's Polar Passage habitat, and the polar bear program.

From Oregon Zoo spokeswoman Hova Najarian:

Hogle's state-of-the-art Rocky Shores habitat mimics the coastline and features seals, sea lions and other species as well as polar bears. Its polar bear area includes a 135,000-gallon saltwater pool that can be chilled to the perfect Arctic temperature. According to Cutting, staff from Hogle Zoo will spend time with Nora in Portland before she goes, and Nora's Oregon Zoo caregivers will travel with her to Utah to help her settle in.

"The polar bear community is tight-knit," she said. "We all work together on easing transitions when bears move, and we share best practices for polar bear care."

Meanwhile, the Oregon Zoo continues design work on its new polar bear habitat, Polar Passage, expected to open in 2020. The new space will provide bears with larger, more open terrain that they can patrol as they do in the wild. It will also include natural ground materials, tundra plants, elevated areas for long views, shallow and deep pools, and many viewing opportunities for visitors.

Polar Passage is one of eight major projects made possible by the community-supported zoo bond measure passed in 2008. With five of these projects now complete, the final three — improved habitats for primates, rhinos and polar bears — will be managed as a single construction project to save costs and increase efficiency.

It is too soon to say whether Nora might return to Portland once Polar Passage is complete, Cutting says.

"We'll be ready to do whatever we are asked to do to help individual polar bears, the overall zoo population and polar bears in the Arctic," she said. "There are a lot of variables, so we'll wait and see what the SSP recommendation is when the time comes. Our commitment to conservation-science collaborations will help inform that decision."

The Oregon Zoo is open seven days per week, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26, the zoo is accessible by MAX light rail line, and visitors who travel to the zoo via MAX receive $1.50 off zoo admission. MAX fare and route information is available at trimet.org, or by calling TriMet Customer Service at 503-238-7433.

Photo Courtesy: Michael Durham, Oregon Zoo